The U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation and Research (herein referred to as the Bilateral Forum) was launched in 2014 to expand opportunities for educational exchanges, scientific research partnerships, and cross-border innovation to help both countries develop a 21st century workforce for both our mutual economic prosperity and sustainable social development. The Bilateral Forum complements the 100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative, a partnership among the U.S. Government, the private sector, and academic institutions to increase student mobility between the United States and the countries of the Western Hemisphere, including Mexico. It also complements Mexico’s program Proyecta 100,000 that aims to send 100,000 Mexican students to the United States and to bring 50, 000 US students to Mexico by 2018.
Through the Bilateral Forum, the U.S. and Mexican governments have brought together government, the higher education community, the private sector, and civil society to promote educational and research cooperation and encourage broader access to quality post-secondary education especially for traditionally underserved demographic groups, and in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. They are expanding student, scholar, and teacher exchanges, increasing joint research in areas of mutual interest, and sharing best practices in higher education and innovation.
U.S. and Mexican officials have given priority to achieving these goals. Cabinet level officials meetregularly on the margins of the High Level Economic Dialogue, while working level stakeholdershold periodic meetings, whether virtually or in person, with key participants to advance the initiative and assess progress made.
The U.S. side is led by the U.S. Department of State and includes participation from other agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Education, Commerce, and Energy, as well as the National Science Foundation and others. On the Mexican side, it is co-chaired by the Ministries of Public Education and Foreign Relations, and includes participation from the Ministries of Economy and Energy, CONACYT, and others.